Indiana Physicians Group Endures SamSam Ransomware Attack

Allied Physicians Group of Michiana has suffered a ransomware attack that made part of its network inactive.

The attack happened on Thursday, May 17, 2018 and led to the encryption of numerous files on its system. It’s presently unclear whether any PHI encrypted. An inquiry into the safety incident is continuing to find out whether any PHI was undermined in the attack.

The attack was noticed swiftly and action was instantly taken to close down its network to safeguard the PHI of patients. Allied Physicians Group of Michiana has been working with its outside counsel, incident responder, and other experts to decide the extent of the breach and regain encrypted data.

The Indiana Physicians Group informs that all data have now been regained in a secure format and the attack didn’t cause major disruption to patients. Measures have already been taken to upgrade safety and avoid future attacks of this type from happening.

CEO Shery Roussarie described in a May 21 press release that the attack involved a variation of SamSam ransomware, which has been used in many cyberattacks to date this year, including the ransomware attack on the City of Atlanta.

The cybercriminal group behind these SamSam ransomware attacks tries to extract money from sufferers with ransom payments usually in the region of $45,000. Although a ransom payment was released by the attackers, it’s unclear how much the ransom was and whether it was paid. In the press release, Roussarie said, “The Firm refuses to verify whether a ransom was paid or, if so, the amount.”

Allied Physicians Group of Michiana is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and all related controlling organizations to completely define the range of the incident. Additional information will be announced when it becomes available and patients will be informed if their PHI was undermined.